QUESTION -TOPIC 3 DQ 1-Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using qualitative or quantitative data. Give an example of when you would use each.

QUESTION -TOPIC 3 DQ 1-Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using qualitative or quantitative data. Give an example of when you would use each.

Qualitative and quantitative data are gathered in a very similar fashion but are different in terms of the type of information that is gathered. One of them deals with numbers (quantitative) and the other focuses on observations (qualitative). Quantitative data uses measurable data such as behaviors, number or individuals, conditions or events. The purpose of using numerical data is to determine what, who, when and the where of health events (NIH, 2018). Examples of when you would use quantitate data are: weight, vitals, age, number of individuals suffering from a specific illness. Qualitative data on the other had takes into account all data that is not numerical. It is data that can be observed but not measured. Some examples of qualitative data are firsthand observations, interviews, questionnaires, how patients perceive quality improvement changes. In short, it is the use of words to help describe a particular health relate event (NIH, 2018). The purpose of gathering qualitative data is to study the impact that things like society, culture, economics, and politics have on the health and disease development on the population. One example would be to study how people perceive the importance of wearing a mask during the covid-19 pandemic.  Quantitative data in public health would be used to gather numerical data for example, studies could be done to help identify how many individuals are homeless withing a community in order to determine how to properly manage resources based on the need of the community.